


Stuck

by someoneplsloverobbierotten



Category: LazyTown
Genre: Claustrophobia, Claustrophobic Sportacus, Diabetic Sportacus, M/M, Panic Attacks, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Service Animals, Service Dogs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-23
Updated: 2017-06-23
Packaged: 2018-11-18 01:01:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11280459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/someoneplsloverobbierotten/pseuds/someoneplsloverobbierotten
Summary: Robbie gets stuck in the lift with his health-nut of a neighbour and his dog.Then he getsstuckin the lift with health-nut of a neighbour and his dog.





	Stuck

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: this fic contains a character(s) having a panic attack!
> 
> \---------------------
> 
> i had some sudden inspiration and managed to write this in a day!
> 
> just a little disclaimer, i guess: sport is diabetic in this; i have no personal experience with diabetes - or the accompanying service dogs - so anything here is very vague and possibly incorrect, though i did do some research to try and avoid that. also i have no knowledge of lifts/rescues either. I do, unfortunately have some experience with panic attacks so :/
> 
> (also my friend suggested naming the dog 'football', so i made him the frickin dog.)

Robbie Rotten was severely in need of coffee. He had coffee in his apartment, he always did, but he didn’t just want coffee. He wanted the overly-caffeinated, overly-sugared and syrupy stuff that could only come from a coffee shop chain. Plus, he hadn’t been outside in a while; none of the shops he consulted for had called him in the past few days, he’d done his groceries earlier this week, and all of his projects either needed parts he didn't have - but had been ordered/were currently being tracked down - or were on their way to being finished.

All he’d done so far today was watch tv and read. He could do with an outing, if it was worth it.

Coffee was always worth it, so he grabbed his keys and wallet and headed out. He owned a huge storage compartment a couple of streets away that he used as a workshop. He couldn’t do anything there at the moment, but there was a Starbucks on the way to it.

Robbie locked his door behind him and walked down the hallway to the lift. As he pressed the button to call it up, he heard shuffling nearby. A feeling of dread creeped up on him, and he turned to look despite telling himself not to. Sure enough, the door to Apartment 75 was opening.

Quickly, Robbie turned back and pressed the button again, willing the lift to come up faster so he could get in and close the doors before Healthy Neighbour caught him and tried to share.

Healthy Neighbour, as Robbie called him, lived in Apartment 75: three apartments away from Robbie in Apartment 79. The distance between them was a small blessing, as Healthy Neighbour was, as the name suggested, a health-nut. He was one of people that went on runs every morning and walked _everywhere,_ and ate fruit vegetables all the time, and was constantly telling people the benefits of exercising and staying healthy. He was _obsessed_ with healthiness and keeping fit - and it _showed_ ; God, did it show - and Robbie had no desire to wake up to the sound of him exercising at six in the morning. It was bad enough that he had to _see_ him at all, living right next to him would be a nightmare.

Luckily, the massive difference in their daily schedules meant that they hardly ever saw each other. Healthy Neighbour was almost always out of his apartment by the time Robbie left his, and he was always back in his apartment by eight o’clock, which was great for Robbie since he tended to stay out late anyway.

Still, they would occasionally manage to catch each other, and every time Robbie knew that Healthy Neighbour was just dying to advise him to cut back on the cake and try some carrot sticks instead. Yes, Healthy Neighbour was well aware of some of Robbie’s more… unhealthier habits, which was why Robbie avoided him like the plague. He didn't want to get lectured; the smiles and waves Healthy Neighbour always gave him were just polite pretence, he was sure. It was just a trap.

The one good thing about Healthy Neighbours’s healthy habits was that he always got the stairs, which meant that Robbie could just escape to the lift if they did catch a glimpse of each other.

However, that good thing was a thing of the past.

Behind him, Robbie could hear the soft pads of paws. He didn't understand how in a ‘No Pets Allowed’ apartment complex, his annoying neighbour had managed to get a _dog_.

And a big one too, not some sort of annoying little yappy thing that he could smuggle in and out of a bag or something. It was _huge_ ; large enough that his dumb neighbour had actually started taking the lift. 

Before the dog, Robbie had seen Healthy Neighbour take the lift maybe _twice_ \- once because he’d had boxes to take up with him (too many for even Mr. Muscles to carry at once), and once because the stairs were out of order due to some sort of spillage or leak.

Now, he took the elevator unless the dog wasn’t with him. The only reason they hadn’t shared the lift since the dog appeared was the difference in schedules. Today though, Healthy Neighbour had the dog, and Robbie was at the lift. Well actually, he was _in_ the lift, and trying his best to hit the ‘close doors’ button before he had company.

He wasn’t quick enough. Both Healthy Neighbour and his dog were in there before Robbie even had time to blink, never mind extend a hand for a button.

“Thank you,” Healthy Neighbour said, flashing Robbie a smile. It was too white and nice, blindingly so. It made Robbie’s stomach twist and he didn't like it. “Are you going to the ground floor?” he asked, reaching for the buttons.

“I um- yes.” Robbie managed.

“Excellent!” the man grinned. “So are we.” He pushed the button marked ‘G’ and with a quiet _‘ding’_ , the lift announced its descent and began moving down.

Ah yes, ‘ _we_ _’_. Robbie looked down at the dog sat quietly at Healthy Neighbour’s heel, seemingly quite content. From the looks of it, it was a German Shepherd. Robbie liked dogs. He didn't _know_ a lot about them, but he knew enough to spot a German Shepherd when he saw one.

He'd always wanted a dog. it was one of the reasons he was so sore about the fact that his neighbour had been able to have one, especially in spite of the policy.

It was wearing its customary blue neckerchief and little red jacket, which Robbie never understood. It was cute, but the colours clashed a bit. Then he noticed that the jacket had some little white symbols on it. Actual symbols, not just the pattern he thought it was when he saw it in the hall.

_Oh,’_ Robbie thought, _‘it's a service dog.’_

Before he had the time to recognise what kind of service dog it was though, Healthy Neighbour apparently noticed his staring.

“His name’s Dakota,” he said, and Robbie’s head snapped up, blushing. Whoops. “Or Dax, for short. You can pet him if you like,” he continued, then chuckled at Robbie’s surprise. “I know the general rule of service dogs is ‘don't touch and don't ask too,’ but he likes it, and we’re in a lift. He can have a little break to be pet.”

“Oh,” Robbie managed, “um, thanks.”

Dax looked up curiously at him, head tilted. One of his ears flopped over.

God, it was too cute. Robbie couldn't waste an opportunity like this, so he bent down a little and gave the dog a scratch behind the ears. Dax’s tail started thumping against the lift’s floor and his tongue lolled out, brown eyes half-closing in bliss.

“Nice work,” Healthy Neighbour chuckled. “That's the magic spot; he’ll love you forever now.”

Robbie was enjoying himself too much to do more than smile dopily down at the dog.

“You know,” Healthy Neighbour said, “I've seen you a lot round here but I don't think I’ve ever actually introduced myself.” He stuck out his hand. “I'm Sportacus,” he told Robbie, “what's your n-”

Just then the lift gave a sudden lurch, throwing the three of them off balance. Robbie’s stomach flipped and he clung to the wall, terrified. The lift had _never_ done that before.

Sportacus was scared too, holding onto Dax’s leash like a lifeline as he stumbled back against the wall of the lift.

The lift lights flickered once, and there was an awful screech that made Robbie and Sportacus wince and Dax whine. A loud ‘clunk’ reverberated around the lift and it jerked to a stop, all the occupants stumbling against the walls.

While Robbie regained his footing he glanced at the floor number they were on. Eight. _Definitely_ not where they were meant to be. They shouldn't have stopped, but even if someone else on a different floor had pressed the button they should've stopped like _that_ , which meant...

They were stuck.

Robbie was frozen too the spot. He couldn't move. What if he did, and the lift unstuck and they fell to their deaths? Robbie let out a shuddery breath. It could be worse, they could have stopped further up, but eight floors was still a very long way down indeed. 

A whine interrupted Robbie’s thoughts. Dax was nudging at Sportacus’s leg, making soft noises. The man himself had a tight grip on the fur around Dax’s neck and was breathing carefully. Both of them were quiet for a few seconds, processing what had just happened.

“Are you alright?” Sportacus asked after a moment. “Are you hurt?”

“No I'm- I’m fine,” Robbie told him, “I'm not hurt.”

“G- good,” Sportacus nodded. “That's good, I’ll- I'll try and call…” he tapered off, shuffling towards the door slightly to press the emergency call button.

Robbie held his breath as Sportacus moved, resisting the urge to lurch forward and stop him. He was terrified that any moment would sent them further down.

Sportacus pressed the button down. “Um, hello?” he said into the little speaker, “hello?”

The speaker crackled. “Hello?” someone on the other end said.

“Oh thank goodness,” Sportacus breathed shakily. “We're stuck- the ah, the lift stopped, there was a shudder and-” he shook his head. “We were coming to the ground floor. We’ve stopped at the eighth.”

“Alright sir,” the lady on the line said. “This is May from reception, is there anybody else in the lift with you?”

“Yes! There’s- there's another man in here with me and my dog.”

“Dog?” May asked, sounding confused. “Oh! Mr- Mr Sportacus, am I right?”

“Yes,” Sportacus confirmed.

“Okay, does the lift seem unstable?” May asked. “Is it still moving?”

“No, no,” Sportacus shook his head, “it's stopped completely. If I move it doesn't tilt or anything.”

“Good. Alright sirs,” May said, “I've already sent out the alert for maintenance. Someone's coming now to see where you are - the number might be wrong or you might be stuck between floors. I have to leave the line to call the electrician now, if anything happens, please call.”

Sportacus’s eyes widened, but Robbie saw him take a deep breath to steel himself. “Okay.”

“I must request that you don't touch anything or try and get out yourselves,” May told them, “it's for your own safety, I can assure you.”

“We won't,” Sportacus said, “I promise.”

“Alright sir,” May said, “thank you. Someone will be with you shortly.” When she finished speaking there was a click, and the line went silent. 

Dax pushed his muzzle against Sportacus’s pant leg.

“It's okay, Dax,” he reassured the dog, “we're fine.” It sounded to Robbie like he was trying to convince himself that, rather than the dog.

Sportacus started running his fingers up and down the length of Dax’s lead. “So um. I never got your name in the end.”

“Robbie,” he said.

Sportacus gave a weak smile. “That's nice,” he offered, “I like that.”

Robbie frowned. Robbie was a very common name, it wasn't something he ever got complimented on.

“So Robbie,” Sportacus said, shifting his feet slightly, “ah- what- what do you do?”

What?

“I- I'm a consultant for some of the local mechanics,” Robbie told him, “is now really the time for this?”

Sportacus flinched and looked away, holding Dax’s leash tightly against his hip. “Sorry I - you're right.”

His hands were running up the leash slightly faster than before. Robbie noticed his breathing was quickening too. Now that he thought about it, his breathing before had been _very_ careful. Controlled, almost.

Maybe Sportacus was more shaken by this than Robbie thought.

“I-” Robbie started. Sportacus looked up again, quickly. “My job - I basically wait for the mechanics to find problems they can't solve and then solve them for them,” he said.

“Wow,” Sportacus said, taken aback. “You- um, you must be very smart then.”

“I am,” Robbie said. He was a literal genius. He wouldn’t deny it.

Sportacus chuckled, which was unexpected. Usually most people thought that that kind of reply was pretty arrogant. This was a nice change.

“I also make things: mechanical things, and sell them,” he offered. Sportacus’s hands slowed on the leash a little. Sportacus needed the distraction of talking, he realised, that was why he'd been asking before. “And I restore and fix old cars and bikes and things.”

“You must be very busy.”

Robbie shrugged. “Not really. Sometimes I’ll have very busy days, or weeks, but it’s mostly quiet.”

“Oh.”

Sensing the end of the conversation, Robbie hastily changed topics. “Um, what about you?” he asked, “what do you do besides run?”

Sportacus laughed quietly. “I work at the gym a few blocks down. My brother owns it.”

Robbie stuck out his tongue. “Ew.”

Sportacus chuckled again. “I like it. I get to teach all the yoga classes.”

“Again: ew,” Robbie said. “What about Mr Fluff over there, does he teach yoga too?”

Sportacus grinned, “Actually, I've been teaching him some doggy yoga.”

Robbie stared at him, disbelieving. “You are _kidding_ me.”

Sportacus shook his head. “Nope. He started copying me when I taught it so I started trying to teach him some properly. he seems to like it. He joins in sometimes when I teach.”

“God,” Robbie breathed, in shock. “What a dog.”

“What a dog indeed,” Sportacus reached down to fondly rub at Dax’s ears.

“What um- if you don't mind me asking,” Robbie said, pointing at the insignia on Dax’s little jacket, “what's his uh, job? I don't recognise the little badge thing.”

“Oh?” Sportacus looked to where Robbie was pointing. “Oh! I have diabetes,” he said. “Dax is trained to let me know if my blood sugars get too low, then I can eat something and not go into a drop.”

“Huh,” Robbie said. “I think I've heard of that. I haven't seen one before though.”

“A diabetic?” Sportacus asked, confused.

Robbie rolled his eyes, “no you _spoon_ , a service dog _for_ diabetics.”

“Oh!”

“The colour kind of clashes though,” Robbie nodded towards Sportacus’s all blue and white tracksuit, and Sportacus snorted.

Just as Robbie was trying to process that particular sound, there was noise from outside the lift.

“Hey!” Someone called, “anyone in there?”

“Yes!” Sportacus shouted, suddenly jumping towards the door. Robbie flung his hands out to the walls on instinct in case they moved. “Yes, we're in here!”

“Okay boys, I got some good news for ya,” the person on the other side shouted through. It sounded like they were below them. “The lift’s completely stable. Nothing's snapped or broken, as such, so there’s no danger of the lift dropping. It's probably just an electrical problem. Easily fixable once the electrician gets here.”

“And ah- how- how long with that take?” Sportacus shouted back.

“Oh, shouldn't be more than fifteen minutes or so,” the person told them. “She lives close.”

“F- fifteen minutes?”

“Yeah,” the person called, “piece of cake!”

Sportacus didn't answer. He was shaking, Dax whining at his side.

“Hey Sportacus?” Robbie asked, leaning towards him, “are you okay?”

Sportacus didn't reply, his breaths were coming out too fast and hard. He was hyperventilating. Something cold ran through Robbie’s veins and he moved forward, one hand on the wall until he was close enough to put his hands on Sportacus shoulders.

“What's wrong?” Robbie asked him. “What's happening?”

Sportacus’s hands came up to clutch at Robbie’s arms. “I- I have to get out,” he gasped, “have to- I-”

Oh God. Oh God _no_.

“Are you _claustrophobic?_ _”_ Robbie asked.

Sportacus nodded letting out a sob.

“Hey!” Robbie shouted towards the voice, “can you open the door?”

“No point,” the person called back, “you're too far up. You can't get through the gap.”

“That doesn't _matter!_ ” Robbie yelled. “Can you get it open? He's claustrophobic!”

“Oh- oh-” The person went quiet but Robbie could hear mumbling from outside.

Sportacus was trembling in front of him, Robbie could feel his own hands start to shake on Sportacus’s shoulders.

“Hey, hey,” Robbie said, “it's only fifteen minutes, we can wait that long.”

Sportacus shook his head. “I can't-” he gasped, “I can't-”

“You _can,_ ” Robbie told him.

“Can't,” Sportacus sobbed, tears rolling down his cheeks. “There’s no air- the walls-”

“The walls are fine,” Robbie interrupted, “they're not moving. I'm a mechanic, I know how elevators work. The walls can't close in, it's not possible. They might seem like they are but they're not. It's impossible for them to move.” He pointed up at the ceiling of the lift. “And look! Sportacus look!”

Sportacus lifted his head and looked to where Robbie was pointing.

“See those vents?” Robbie said. “That means _air_. There's air coming in all the time. We won't run out.”

“I- I'm-”

“Hey!” the man called through.

_“What?”_ Robbie snapped.

“We uh, we called the electrician and she said we can open the door,” he told them. “You still won't be able to get out though.”

“That's fine,” Robbie said hurriedly, “just open it!” He turned back to Sportacus. “Hear that Sportaspoon? _Open doors.”_

Sportacus managed a teary smile. “I - I heard.” Dax snuffled at Sportacus’s hip, shoving his nose into his tracksuit pants and Sportacus moved a hand down to stroke him.

“You guys need to step away from the doors,” the man told them.

Robbie immediately started herding Sportacus towards the back of the lift. “Yes, yes- come on Sportacus, into the corner, sit down now.” He gently pushed on Sportacus shoulders to sit him in one of the back corners of the lift. Hopefully this position would make the lift seem a bit bigger than it was. Even the illusion of more space could help, maybe.

Dax followed automatically and Sportacus pulled him close, until the dog was almost in his lap. He snuggled close and Sportacus hugged him back, burying his hand in the ruff around his neck.

“There you go,” Robbie said brightly, like he’d just sat Sportacus down on his sofa for a cup of tea instead of trying to bring him down from a panic attack inside a lift. “Deep breaths now, nice and slow…”

“Are you guys away from the doors?”

“Yes!” Robbie shouted, hunkering down next to Sportacus.

“Okay, stay back.”

There was scraping and crunching from the other side of the lift door. Robbie drew away from the sound, frightened, and pressed closer to the wall with Sportacus. He felt Dax stick his nose into his shoulder and automatically reached out to stroke through the thick fluff at the dog’s cheeks.

Something long and metal slid through the slit where the closed doors met. It looked similar to a crowbar or a metal shoehorn, and it was being pushed on so that it could force the doors open. They had to try it a few times but eventually the doors slid open, accompanied by the lifts customary _‘ding’_ , to reveal the inner wall of the lift shaft.

There was a gap at the bottom though, about the height of a full length ruler. It looked like one of the halls of the apartment complex, since all he could see was pale cream. _‘The eighth floor,’_ Robbie guessed. Suddenly a head appeared in the gap and Robbie jumped.

“Hey boys,” the head said. “Electrician’s about eight minutes away. How you holdin’ up?”

“I'm fine,” Robbie said. “Sportacus?”

Sportacus had his eyes glued to the gap, breathing heavily. He wasn't shaking as much, but there were still some obvious tremors.

“Sportacus?” Robbie asked again.

“Oh- I- I'm- I'm better. Now,” he rasped out. “Thank you.”

“Don't mention it,” the man said. “You two sit tight. If you need anything I’ll be near by.” Then his head disappeared.

“Right,” Robbie said. “That's eight minutes. We can do eight minutes, can't we?”

Still trembling a bit, Sportacus nodded.

“Good.” Robbie nodded, thinking of how to fill the time. Talking was a good time filler and a good distraction, and Sportacus seemed to respond well to it. What to talk about though?

Next to him, Sportacus shifted a little and Dax wriggled in his lap, then settled down again when Sportacus was done. He gave a wag of his tail and rested his head against Sportacus’s shoulder.

_Ah_.

“Well,” Robbie said. “Eight minutes - I think - is enough to tell you about when I built a dog.”

Sportacus turned to look at him for a second, awe and confusion edging out the fear and anxiety. “Y- you did?”

“Mhm,” Robbie nodded. “His name was SugarPie. I made him out of a toaster and a mini-hoover, and he was a little _begger_.”

 

* * *

 

Robbie was sure Sportacus didn't believe his dog story, at least not all the way. but it got him breathing easier and even laughing slightly so that was good enough. The gap in the door seemed to help too, and of course, Dax’s presence did wonders.

Sportacus was telling him a little about the gym - which sounded like a nice place, even if Robbie despised the concept of it - when a lady’s head appeared in the gap.

The two of them jumped, Robbie letting out a little yelp, and the lady quickly apologised.

“Sorry, sorry!” she said. “I'm the electrician - the names Jocelyn. I've been upstairs to look at the main wiring and it's literally just a couple of it's literally just some tangled wires. They've tripped some of the circuits. It won't take more than a few minutes to sort out, but when I do, I have to turn off the lift. It’ll stay where it is, I promise, but the lights’ll go out - couple of seconds, that's all they’ll be off for - and then they'll come back on and I’ll manually lower you down enough to get out. Is that okay?” 

“The lights will be out?” Robbie asked, careful not to let fear seep through into his voice.

“Yes,” Jocelyn said, “but only for a few seconds. One minute, maximum. You can count to sixty if you want. You’ll still have light coming from the gap though.”

“Okay.”

“Do- do the doors close when we go down?” Sportacus asked, gently stroking Dax’s floppy ear.

Jocelyn shook her head. “No. There's no point, I'm only lowering you a little bit - just a meter or so so that you can get out. It’ll move just like it would if the doors were closed.”

“Alright,” Sportacus nodded, visibly psyching himself up.

“Okay. I'm going up to sort it now,” Jocelyn said. “When the lights go off, don't panic; you’ll only have a minuet to wait,” she told them then her head dropped from view.

“One minute isn't so bad?” Robbie asked, unable to keep his voice from wavering a little now that she was gone, “right?”

Sportacus’s hand snaked around from Dax’s back to grasp at Robbie’s. “One minute is very quick,” he agreed. “We can count.”

“Yeah.” Robbie took a deep breath, which Sportacus mirrored.

They had a few minutes before the lights went off for Jocelyn to get up the stairs - _‘poor lass,’_ Robbie thought - which Robbie spent stroking Dax and telling Sportacus about the vintage bike he was currently working on.

Almost halfway through Robbie’s tale of procuring the correct paint colour, the lights went out.

Robbie gasped and immediately looked to the gap in the door.

“Hey, it's okay Robbie,” Sportacus assured him, “we have one minute now, remember?”

Robbie nodded.

“We can count now, yes? One, two, three…”

Sportacus counted slowly, so that Robbie could breathe at the same pace. Robbie eventually managed to start counting with him, somewhere around 20.

At 56, the lights flickered back on and Robbie sagged against Sportacus’s side, breathing heavily with relief. Dax licked his cheek, and Robbie appreciated it. (Even if it was gross, it was kind of cute.)

“See?” Sportacus said, “that wasn't so long.”

The man from before appeared in the gap again. “Alright, we have the all clear from upstairs. Jos’s gonna lower you down a little bit, and we’re gonna help you down. There's a step stool down here if you need it.”

The man disappeared again, but they could still hear him. “Jos, you ready?” he asked, presumably on the phone, since Jocelyn was upstairs. They couldn't hear her reply.

“Okay boys!” he shouted, “Three, two, one-”

The lift started moving. Both of them jumped, and Robbie squeezed Sportacus’s hand in fear before he realised what he was doing.

Sportacus squeezed back.

The two of them stayed silent as the lift slowly lowered, the gap getting larger and larger. After a few moments they could see the top of the man's head, and then lift stopped again. The gap was almost two foot in height; enough for Robbie and Sportacus to slide out through comfortably.

“Alright boys, you can come forward now and I'll get you out.”

“You first,” Robbie said, pushing Sportacus forward. Sportacus looked like he wanted to argue, but fear quickly won out and he got up and shuffled over to the gap.

He set Dax down on the floor near the gap. “Stay,” he ordered, then knelt and turned onto his stomach so he could slowly shuffle backwards through the gap.

“Stepladder's just down here,” the man said, “here you go- there, that’s it...” and suddenly Sportacus disappeared out the gap.

Robbie's heart lurched and he scrabbled forward to look out the gap. Everything was fine though; Sportacus was stood on the landing of the eighth floor perfectly safe and sound.

“Robbie!” Sportacus exclaimed, bouncing on his heels, “I'm out!”

“Yes you are,” Robbie said, “well done.” That didn't come out as sarcastic as he wanted it to.

Sportacus quickly climbed back up the stepladder and suddenly they were very close, almost nose to nose. It startled Robbie and he jumped slightly at the proximity.

“Sorry,” Sportacus apologised, but he didn’t move. He must've thought Robbie jumped because of the suddenness of his appearance, not the closeness of it. “Can you pass Dax down to me please?” Sportacus asked, “if he needs help?”

Robbie blinked, processing the question. “Um- sure.”

Sportacus tapped the floor of the lift slightly with the palm of his hand. “Dax come here, come on.”

Dax almost commando crawled forward, which was _fantastic_ , and Sportacus managed to hook his arms around the dog’s neck and chest. “There we go, pup,” he said to the clearly adult dog. “Come on.”

Robbie put a steadying hand on Dax’s rump as Sportacus carefully lifted the dog out of the lift and down to the ground. He instantly sat by the side of the ladder, staring up at his owner and Robbie.

“Now you, Robbie,” Sportacus said, smiling.

“Are you going to lift me?” Robbie asked jokingly. Yeah, _right_.

“I can help you down at least,” Sportacus told him, smile not wavering, “come on.”

Robbie frowned but turned around anyway, lowering himself onto his stomach and shuffling backwards like Sportacus had done. He got his legs down and out but he didn't have enough strength in his arms to hold onto the lift floor and preventing himself from just sliding straight out of the lift. Before he could fall through, Sportacus wrapped an arm around his waist and Robbie squeaked, going bright red as he felt Sportacus’s arm against his stomach.

_Oh God_.

Sportacus put an arm under his knees and gently pulled him out of the lift until he had Robbie in his arms, bridal style. Robbie automatically flung his arms around Sportacus’s neck, terrified that the man was going to drop him. Logically, he knew that he wouldn’t; Sportacus was obviously strong, and he was lifting Robbie with an ease and surety that told Robbie he wasn’t letting go until he actually put him down. That being said, Robbie was terrified of heights - one of the reasons the windows in is 20th floor apartment had the curtains permanently drawn - and being lifted up on top of a stepladder was a bit too high up for him to be comfortable with. No matter how secure Sportacus’s hold on him, Robbie’s brain told him that he would fall one way or another.

He didn’t, though. Sportacus just stepped down off the ladder and gently lowered Robbie to the ground, Dax coming over to snuffle at the pair’s legs. Robbie put a hand on the dog’s head, willing his legs to stop shaking, as the man from before came up to them.

“I'm Joe,” he introduced, “you two alright?”

“We're much better now,” Sportacus said. He still had a hand on Robbie’s lower back. It was… new. Robbie was unused to being touched like that. Usually he would shrug it off, but he was tired and emotionally drained and his legs were still wobbly, so he leaned into a little it instead.

“Uh, yeah,” Robbie agreed. “We’re okay now.”

“Okay, good,” Joe said, clearly relieved. He lifted a phone up to his ear. “Jocelyn,” he said into it, “we’re good to go.”

Now that they were outside the lift, and Joe was close, they could actually hear her reply.

“Aces,” her voice said from the little phone speaker, “I’m closing the lift doors now. Can you alert reception and tell ‘em what’s happened? I’ll make a start on this once there’s a sign up or something - don’t want people to use the lift whilst I’m working on it.”

“I’ll get right on that,” Joe replied, “I’ll just get these two- uh, _three_ , sorted and then I’ll call.”

“Alright, ring me when you’re ready.” She hung up.

Behind them, the lift doors started to close. Both Robbie and Sportacus flinched. Dax moved slightly closer to the two of them, sniffing at Sportacus, and Sportacus reached down to pat at his neck.

“Now reception will probably want to speak to the two of you - the landlord will definitely want to - so I’d suggest you do that as soon as possible,” Joe told them. “ _But_ , you two have had quite the uh, _ordeal_ today so when I go down I can tell ‘em you guys are taking a little break first, yeah?”

“Please,” Robbie said immediately. He couldn’t face being questioned right now. He needed to go have a sit down - and probably something sweet and caffeinated. Plus, Dax looked pretty upset. He was actually trying to wiggle between him and Sportacus just so he could get close to his owner. A break would be good for all of them.

“That would be nice, thank you,” Sportacus agreed. He looked much calmer now, but he was clearly exhausted.

Joe nodded. “That’s fine. I’ll let ‘em know - just make sure to come back and talk to ‘em when you’re done. I think you can get away with a couple of hours though,” he said.

“We will, thank you.” Sportacus said, and Robbie nodded.

“Don’t mention it,” Joe said, waving them off. “Now go on, shoo, shoo. Go have your break.”

Robbie didn’t need to be told twice. He grabbed Sportacus’s wrist and with a quick “thanks!” to Joe he started dragging the other man down the hall towards the stairwell, Dax keeping pace at their heel.

“Robbie?” Sportacus asked, confused.

“Come on,” Robbie said. “I'm taking you for a drink. You're all shaken up.”

“S- so are you!” Sportacus spluttered, trying to get his brain to catch up with the situation enough that he could tell his legs to do the same. Robbie might be lazy, his long legs meant that he could _move_.

Robbie rolled his eyes. “Well yes, but I was getting one _anyway_ ; the whole reason I was getting in that stupid lift in the first place was to go out and get coffee.”

“But-”

“ _Plus_ ,” Robbie interrupted, “your dog’s been acting pretty antsy since we got out of that lift. Since he was fine _in_ it, I’m guessing it was less to do with the lift and more to do with _you_.”

They reached the stairwell door to the sound of Sportacus’s shocked silence. As Robbie paused to open the door for Sportacus, Dax went straight to his owner’s side and started jumping up at his waist.

Robbie startled, not expecting that, but Sportacus just patted him on the head and pointed to the floor.

“Oh- Oh. Um. You’re right,” Sportacus said, surprised. “I should really get something - okay, okay boy I’m getting something, I’m getting something,” he told Dax, who was sniffing at Sportacus’s hip and whining. Sportacus pulled an energy bar out of his pocket and started unwrapping it. “Did you have somewhere in mind?” he asked Robbie.

Robbie looked at him, eyes narrowed. “Will you burst into flames if you go inside a Starbucks?”

“No,” Sportacus snorted.

“Then let’s go,” he said, wrapping his hand around Sportacus’s wrist and pulling him through the door.


End file.
